When does Airbnb charge you? Here's what you need to know about upfront or installment payments

Publish date: 2024-07-24
2021-02-10T17:23:46Z

With many millions of travelers worldwide using Airbnb to book stays in homes, apartments, and other accommodations, it's smart to get your reservations in for more desirable properties early. This way you ensure you can stay somewhere you love.

However, travel and accommodation charges can quickly rack up, and there isn't always a clear or consistent timeline for when you can expect to be charged for a reservation or booking. With Airbnb, that all depends on what type of booking you made. 

How you can pay for your Airbnb stay

After you book your accommodation, Airbnb offers two ways to pay: as one payment or in installments. 

A payment plan is available on most listings, allowing you to pay an initial deposit for your stay upfront, with subsequent payments charged on the date or dates listed during checkout. If you choose not to take part in a payment plan, you'll be charged the booking's full balance as soon as the host confirms your stay. 

Quick tip: The host won't receive the funds until 24 hours after checkout to ensure travelers can resolve any issues upon arrival.

In the United States,  you can pay for your Airbnb booking with the following payment methods:

If you are booking outside of the US, check the Airbnb website for a list of other acceptable payment methods. Any attempt to pay off-platform or offline in cash is a violation of Airbnb's terms of service and may result in you being removed from the site. 

If you complete a booking using a payment plan, you can check your future payments' dates by following these steps. 

How to verify when Airbnb will charge you for a reservation

1. Log in to your Airbnb account in a web browser. 

2. From the drop-down menu on the upper right-hand corner of the screen, choose "Trips." 

You can find this option beneath the Messages link. Jennifer Still/Business Inisder

3. Locate the reservation you want to view the payment for under the Upcoming trips tab and select it. 

4. Look for the "Payment details" header, then select "Get receipts and manage payments." 

5. Scroll down until you see "Your payment details" and look for "Scheduled Payments," under which your payment dates will be listed in full. 

How Airbnb will take payment for long-term reservations

If you're booking an extended getaway through Airbnb, it's good to know that your payment and charges run a slightly different schedule. On Airbnb, long-term reservations are defined as stays longer than 28 nights. 

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spanspanJennifer is a writer and editor from Brooklyn, New York, who spends her time traveling, drinking iced coffee, and watching way too much TV. She has bylines in Vanity Fair, Glamour, Decider, Mic, and many more. You can find her on Twitter at /spana href="http://twitter.com/jenniferlstill"@jenniferlstill/a.span/span/span Jennifer Still Jennifer is a writer and editor from Brooklyn, New York, who spends her time traveling, drinking iced coffee, and watching way too much TV. She has bylines in Vanity Fair, Glamour, Decider, Mic, and many more. You can find her on Twitter at @jenniferlstill. Read more Read less

Axel Springer, Insider Inc.'s parent company, is an investor in Airbnb.

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